Steal It!: Zanotti for Fausto Puglisi vs. Boohoo.com

I'm now posting all of my posts in the office as I don't really have much to do, unless we have a photoshoot on the day. Our Adobe Photoshop Trial just ended yesterday and I don't think we will get  a new license anytime soon so I'm currently using Polyvore to make all of the photos for this blog. I don't want to use Polyvore photos (which come with links) so I normally just use screen capture tool and I have no idea what the size of the photo is. I know you probably don't even notice this but I'm perfectionist and I'm a little OCD as well so it really annoys me!

I've been attracted to (almost) all tartan things lately (possibly because they're everywhere and I see them every time I walk into a clothing stores). I was searching for some items to use in a new Steal It! post today when I saw these two pair of (very similar) tartan boots:

	Zanotti for Fausto Puglisi	boohoo.com 'Lexi'
Price	£801	£30
Height	12 cm (4.7 inches)	10.5 cm (4 inches)
Available sizes	UK 2.5-6 (35.5-39)	UK 3 - 8 (36-41)
Material	50% Calfskin; 50% Wool	Upper: Textile; Lining and sock: Textile and other materials; Outer sole: Other materials

Giuseppe Zanotti's overall design looks way more well-made and the colour are prettier. However, I prefer 'Lexi' collar (?) shape and length as Zanotti for Fausto Puglisi's collar looks a little high for me. If I could, I would change 'Lexi''s zipper colour to gold instead of black and the laces to black instead of red. And finally, I hate the sole on 'Lexi'! I really hate that type of soles although I know that they are generally less slippery than any other type of soles. Those soles just scream informal/unprofessional (in my opinion). 

Conclusion:

I could probably change the laces on boohoo.com's 'Lexi' and live with the black zipper and the horrible soles since I don't have to see them when I wear the shoes anyway. Zanotti for Fausto Puglisi's boots will still be in wish list for a looooong time though.

Which pair would you buy? Leave a comment below to let me know =)

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 

See you again soon. 

xx

Steal It!: Jil Sander Navy vs. ASOS & Topshop

I wanted to buy a great pair of flatforms since the beginning of summer but I didn't have much money back then so I could just go to Topshop, pick them up for a few minutes and then put them down. Now it's almost the end of summer but I just got enough money to spend on most stuffs I want so I decided to buy them right away as I'm coming back to Vietnam this October and summer in Vietnam sometimes lasts until November.

	Jil Sander Navy 'Demi'		ASOS 'Jump'	Topshop 'Wills'
Price	£250 ($389.95)		£35	£35
Colours	1 colour (black)		2 colours (black, white/gold)	2 colours (black, white)
Material	Leather upper, leather lining and man made sole		100% Real Leather Upper, 50% Real Leather Lining Sock, 100% Resin Sole	100% Leather

Both Topshop and ASOS have more colour choices than Jil Sander Navy yet sadly most of them have been sold out, except for the white/rose gold version of ASOS 'Jump'. I haven't read any reviews for 'Demi' yet but I've considered buying 'Wills' and they seems to be quite uncomfortable to wear although they are 100% leather. 

Conclusion:

I actually just ordered ASOS 'Jump' last week and am waiting for them to be delivered. Hopefully I will be able to keep them as I want this pair of sandals for a really long time now!

Which pair would you buy? Leave a comment below to let me know :)

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 

See you again soon. 

xx

Steal It!: Lanvin vs. Timeless (and other alternatives)

Hi guys, sorry I haven't posted anything for a while. June has been bad for me so far, I haven't got any good news and been losing money for all stupid reasons. I wanted to start blogging again so bad but had no inspiration and motivation to do anything (I've been playing The Sims 3 non-stop). 

Anyway, that's enough complain for today. I went window-shopping yesterday and stopped by every shop on the street to find some inspirations for a new post and actually got a few ideas, hopefully I will be able to write and publish them this week :)

Lanvin 'Espadrille' bow flat sandals have been on the market for a while and to be honest, I'm not so fond of it as I don't normally go for shoes with big bows lol. Although, I found a lot of similar versions of this pair and I really like some of the alternatives. As there are so many alternatives, I'm just gonna do a comparison between Lanvin's original version and Timeless's version (the ones with the most similarities). 

	Lanvin 'Espadrille' bow sandals	Timeless bow flat sandals
Price	£310-360	£25-28
Colours	5 colours: black, honey, teal, beige, orange	5 colours: black, silver, nude, gold, pink
Material	Raffia insole, leather sole; Upper: Fabric	100% Polyurethane

Here are some of the other great alternatives (link to buy below):

American Eagle Outfitters (black, lime) $29.95 - SODA £11.60 - Chinese Laundry (black, pink, nude, white) $39.95 - KG by Kurt Geiger £55

I love Lanvin's bows as they look sooooo soft! Timeless's version seems to be a bargain but they seem a bit stiff and hard. Timeless's colours are an amazing surprise as I didn't expect them to be this great. I love all the colours, especially the two metallic ones (did I tell you I've been drawn to silver recently?). I'm too sleepy at the moment so I can't think of anything else to write =.=

Conclusion:

Comparing Lanvin 'Espadrille' and Timeless's sandals, I really can't decide which one I like better. I love the high-end version as they look more well-made and sophisticated but Timeless has way more beautiful colours. If I can afford it, I would buy the Lanvin's black and nude pairs and Timeless's silver and gold pairs! However, I'm not really into big bows so I think I may spend my money on SODA's white pair (if they ship to the UK) or either nude or black pair from Kurt Geiger (although they are way over my budget at the moment.

Which pair(s) would you buy? Leave a comment below to let me know :)

UPDATE

I just came by Primark today and saw a remarkably similar version of Timeless's bow flat sandals from Atmosphere clothing. Neither Primark nor Atmosphere have online shops and I'm not allowed to take photos in the store so I can't put the photos of the flats here, but you can go to Google.com and search for Atmosphere bow sandals. Their flats are available in several colours; I've seen black, silver, nude and pink (although there're only black and silver available in my local Primark store). I forgot to check the price but they shouldn't be higher than £10, which really is a great bargain for anyone who like the Timeless's sandals!

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 

See you again soon. 

xx

Steal It!: Ancient Greek Sandals vs. River Island (and Forever 21)

I came across Ancient Greek Sandals brand last year when I was searching for a new pairs of flat sandals for summer. Their 'Ikaria' sandals have been on my Wishlist for almost a year now (I definitely have a weakness for any clothing items/footwear with wings, first Jeremy Scott for Adidas and now this =.=). I haven't been able to find any sandals which are similar to the 'Ikaria' ones but I saw these River Island sandals last week when I was browsing online and they're so similar to Ancient Greek Sandals' 'Medea'. I also found a similar pair from Forever 21 but they are sadly sold out now :( (if you're living in the US, you can still find the black version here)

	Ancient Greek Sandals ‘Medea’	River Island Embellished Grecian Sandals
Price	£140	£20-35
Colours	8 colours	3 colours
Material	100% leather	PU + Plastic sole

'Medea' sandals definitely have higher quality as they are 100% natural leather and hand-made to order, which is reflected on their prices. Ancient Greek Sandals also offers way more beautiful colours, I absolutely love the silver and nude version of the sandals and if they were (a lot) cheaper, I would buy two pairs in nude and silver. River Island's colours are limited and not very pretty but I have only seen their photos online so I'm not sure if they look this bad in store.

Conclusion:

To be honest, I won't purchase Ancient Greek Sandals 'Medea', at least not within this year. I lose interest in one item very quickly and since I can't really afford to spend £140 on a pair of flat sandals at the moment, I'd rather spend less money on a similar pair and probably through them out after a few months. If the Forever 21 sandals were still available, I would definitely purchase them as they are cheaper, more similar to the original ones and River Island's colours are a bit too "sparkly" for me. But now that they are sold out, I will probably keep searching for a similar pair from other brands.

Which pair would you choose? Leave a comment below to let me know =)

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 

See you again soon. 

xx

Steal It!: Valentino vs. Forever 21, Kurt Geiger & Dune + F21 VOUCHER!

I'm finally done with the dissertation! I still have a 4000-word essay due next Thursday and a class test on Friday so I still haven't got time to write a long post. I put together a photo for this Steal It! feature though =)

I fell in love with Valentino Rock Stud line from the first time I saw the Rock Stud tote bag. I actually prefer the ankle strap version of these flats but since I haven't found any great alternatives, I decided to go with these flats, although I didn't expect them to be available in so many colours!

	Valentino 'Rockstud'  Ballerina	Forever 21 Studded Faux Leather Flats		KG by Kurt Geiger 'Liquorice'	Head Over Heels by Dune 'Melony'
Price	£405-555	£19.90		£39	£15
Colours	16 colours	3 colours		2 colours	2 colours
Material	100% leather/patent leather/calfskin	100% PU		Leather/Synthetic	Synthetic

It probably goes without saying that I love Valentino's colour choices! All the colours are so vibrant and pretty, I particularly like those in apple green colour (2nd from the top, left column). While Forever 21 gives us more choices than the other two brands, I don't really like their colours, except for the black one. Dune's version meets my "patent leather" criteria, yet their black flats look a bit cheap and low quality (please keep in mind that I'm just making this assumption based on the photos I saw online). 

Conclusion:

These flats are one of those you can never have enough of and I would buy the Valentino's ones in every colour if I can ever afford it. I would probably buy a pairs as a gift for myself if I get a job before October, but for now, a pair of Kurt Geiger Liquorice in cheetah print or a Forever 21's pair in black would be enough =)

Forever 21 is celebrating their birthday TODAY (21/04/2013) with 21% off on all regular priced items! Click on this link and use code BDAY21! (Please click on the link as it might not work if you don't. And unfortunately as I just realised, the code only works for the US site although it was sent to me by Forever 21 Global :( sorry guys)

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 

See you again soon. 

xx

Steal It!: Alexander Wang vs. Nasty Gal

Back when I was still crazy about studs and spikes, Alexander Wang's Rocco was on my (unaffordable) wishlist for months. I even looked it up on eBay to see if there're any used items for less than half of the retail price. In fact, I watched several used Rocco in black and waited to place bids on them but ended up un-watching them in the last minute because the highest bid was already over my budget.

I'm no longer craving for this bag but when I saw Nasty Gal's Eros (which is sadly sold out now) and got the idea of doing this blog post, I came back to Alexander Wang's website to download all Rocco's photos. Seeing all the new beautiful colours, I'm now dying for the Pebbled Latter version T.T

Alexander Wang Rocco Nasty Gal Eros Price £748 - £773 £42.93 Colour 10 colours (+ 5 blacks with different studs/materials) 2 colours Size/Dimensions 34 x 23.5 x 23.5 (cm) 29 x 20.5 x 20.5 (cm)

Both of the bags have similar shape and size but I prefer a smaller bag so Eros is a better choice. With the price above, I believe Rocco is made with much better material yet Eros looks softer somehow. Rocco is a clear winner with the colour choices. All of the 10 colours look sooooo beautiful and I want them all!

Conclusion:

Considering the shape, size and price, Eros is definitely my first choice but now that it's sold out and Rocco comes in much more colours, I'll wait to see how long my crush for Rocco will last and will probably save up for it "soon".

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 

See you again soon. 

xx

Steal It!: Isabel Marant vs. Glamorous & Dorothy Perkins

I don't normally like Western inspired clothes and accessories but I made an exception this time. I'm super thin and petite - tiny to be exact, so shirts with hard material like my old school uniform shirt, look really bad on me. Which is why I always look out for silk, satin, polyester or viscose shirts and Isabel Marant Lauryn is a perfect choice. It's soft and flowy and the embellishment is beautiful and sophisticated. 

But, again, I can hardly spend £500 on a shirt, so when I saw Dorothy Perkins Western shirt I knew right away that I had to write a post about it :). While I was doing my research for this post, I also came across this similar shirt from Glamorous.

	Isabel Marant Lauryn	Glamorous Jules	Dorothy Perkins
Price	£445-635	£30-42	£39.99-42
Colours	5 colours	4 colours	2 colours
Material	Fabrication: 58% viscose, 42% acetate. Combo: 67% viscose, 33% cotton	Cotton (?)	100% Polyester

I can't seem to find a great photo of the Lauryn shirt in Grenat - oxblood/burgundy colour so I didn't put it in the photo above but if you want, you can take a look at it here. Although almost all the Lauryn shirts have been sold out online, I managed to find this website - which still has it in 3 different colours: navy, black and rose and they are all on sale for $395. Glamorous' and Dorothy Perkins' prices are the same but Jules' material is not very appealing to me. Since I like the white/cream and navy version, all three brands look great to me, I do wish that I can buy the navy version from either of the high street brands though.

Conclusion:
I would love to buy Isabel Marant Lauryn if I could find the white or navy version on eBay for at least 1/5 of the original price (yeah, I wish lol) but I think Dorothy Perkins' version is a good alternative too. The only problem is, both Dorothy Perkins and Glamorous don't carry my size. Still, I'm gonna order a size 8 from Dorothy Perkins to try on next week!

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 
See you again soon.
xx

Steal It!: Charlotte Olympia vs. ZARA

I always love Charlotte Olympia's whimsical shoes designs. Her designs are beautiful and unique and frankly, hardly affordable. I don't normally pay attention to her other products but her Pandora clutch caught my eyes immediately. I love clear bags (as mentioned in my post about Shourouk (= ) so I guess that is one of the reason for my attraction to Charlotte Olympia's Pandora.

Charlotte Olympia Pandora ZARA Neon Box Clutch Price £545 - £625 £19.99 Colour 4 colours (+ several different versions) 3 colours Size/Dimensions 19 x 11 x 4 (cm) 18 x 10 x 4 (cm) Other Comes with a single gold lame insert. Come with same colour sole.

I'm too lazy to type a long post again so I'm just gonna make it as short and precise as possible. Charlotte Olympia's Pandora also comes in clear with 3 inserts in different colours and patterns. There are also a few more variations of the bag with different texture and colours (check them out on Charlotte Olympia's website here). While ZARA's clutch colours are bright and fun and apparently perfect for summer, Pandora's colours are more elegant and more suitable for formal events. 

Conclusion

ZARA's neon clutch is a wonderful alternative to Charlotte Olympia's Pandora if you're shopping on a budget. But to be honest, I'd love to get the original Pandora bag - clear with 3 inserts.

Hope the post helps you decide which one to go with.

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 
See you again soon.
xx

Steal It!: 3.1 Phillip Lim vs. Topshop

3.1 Phillip Lim's Pashli bag has been the IT bag since the moment it was carried down the runway in the brand's AW11 catwalk show. I've been in love with it for a while now but with my current student budget, I can't hardly afford it.

I saw this bag on Topshop website a few weeks back and it immediately reminded me of Pashli (although some of the reviews on the website keep mentioning Celine) so below is the comparison.

                                 

3.1 Phillip Lim Pashli Topshop Winged Pushlock Tote Price £830 £45 Colour 4 colours 4 colours Size/Dimensions H 29cm W 38cm H 35cm, W 48cm Material 100% Leather 100% Polyurethane

Pashli also comes in 2 other sizes: mini (16.5 x 21.5cm), medium (25.5 x 31.75cm) while Topshop only made one (giant) size. 3.1 Phillip Lim's Pashli actually comes in much more than just 4 colours but they were all eventually sold out; the medium size has better colours here and one beautiful exclusive edition here. The four colours above are still available on their website. Beside the black and oxblood ones, I don't really like Topshop colours: navy seems a bit light for me and putty (as they called) doesn't seem to suit the bag. 


Conclusion:
As much as I love Topshop (and spent a lot of money on their clothes), I'd rather save up for a black Pashli than buy the Topshop version. 3.1 Phillip Lim's Pashli is much more sophisticated and well-made, and its size seems perfect to me.

Which one would you buy? Leave a comment below to let me know :)

PS: I can't wait to share with you guys this new jacket that I bought. I saw baby on several blogs a while back but couldn't afford to buy it. Luckily it was on sale a few days ago and I managed to get the last one in my size!

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 
See you again soon.
xx

Steal It!: Mulberry vs. Topshop

I guess most of us fashion enthusiasts love to own at least one luxury designer bag, yet not everyone can afford to spend hundreds or thousands of pounds on a bag. And since replica is not an option (for me at least), look-a-like bags from high-street brands seem to be a good choice.

As I came across lots of these items while doing my window-shopping, I decided to make this a regular (weekly) section/post, in which I will compare some features of 1 look-a-like item with the original one's. You guys can use it to choose whether to buy the high street item or save up to buy the luxury one but please keep in mind that it's just a comparison that I made from all the information that available online and based mainly on the look of the items so it might not be totally accurate =). 

Of course I won't talk about Hermes' Birkin or Chanel's classic 2.55, both of which have so many 'sisters' from so many different brands that I can't even count, I will focus more on the recent ones and in this first post, I'll talk about one bag that I just saw yesterday in Topshop and its original version - Mulberry's Small Del Rey.

Mulberry Small Del Rey Topshop Twistlock Holdall Price £795 - £1500 £28 Colour 6 (5 neutral colours and 1 bright) 2 bright colours Size/Dimensions H 18cm W 25.5cm H 22cm, W 24cm Material Leather 100% Polyurethane

There is an obvious difference between the two prices, I guess I shouldn't have to mention it. Although Topshop's price does surprise me a bit since their bags often cost over £35. About the colour choices, I normally go for black bag as it doesn't easily get dirty and can be worn with almost anything but this time I prefer Topshop's colours. I actually planned to purchase the orange bag last week but was too busy and now it is sadly sold out online. The sizes/dimensions seem to be similar and the materials, well, you can guess based on the prices =)


Conclusion:
Topshop Twistlock Holdall bag is a very good alternative if you like the look and size but not the price of Mulberry's Small Del Rey. It's practical, a great bargain and with the bright colours, it can definitely help you make a statement.

Thank you for reading and hope you enjoy the post! 
See you again soon.
xx